Company of Heroes 2 (Beta Impressions)

“Company of Heroes” was a beast to play. I found it incredibly difficult, and I consider myself an experienced RTS vet. The AI is ruthless even on the easier difficulty settings and the amount of micromanagement required will test your reflexes beyond their limits. Still, I can’t help but be psyched for the upcoming sequel, scheduled to be released on June 25, 2013.

Company of Heroes 2

I recently took advantage of an incredible offer to get into the “Company of Heroes 2” closed Beta, which involved liking the official Facebook page. I included a link below for your reference, should the offer still be on the table when you read this.

Like its predecessor, the game is fairly difficult. Most units have special abilities that they’ll be able to enact on the battlefield, requiring you to micromanage and care for them like children. Sure, they’ll fight automatically when enemy units are nearby, but against superior forces they’ll be wiped out of existence in no time flat. The AI is just as ruthless in “COH2”, managing multiple squads with ease while you struggle to switch from squad to squad and give them orders.

New to the series is a hypothermia mechanic that will cause troops to slowly lose health when they aren’t in protected structures. Truesight makes an appearance, which is a mechanic that gives units a more realistic line-of-sight. Games like “Teleglitch” and the upcoming “Monaco” are examples of games that employ mechanics like this, allowing units to only see what isn’t blocked by the objects around them. Vaulting allows units to climb over walls and fences, which is a welcome change from the first game. Ice is destructable, killing units instantly should they be unfortunate enough to fall through it.

From what I’ve played so far, this game is definitely not for casual RTS fans, which is a real shame. There’s an opportunity here for the game to appeal to a wider audience and whether or not the developers capitalize on this is anyone’s guess. Time will tell, I suppose. In the meantime, you can check out my videos as I record them via the links below.